Welcome to Northwest Independence LLC
Introduction
Typical Return on Investment(ROI): With current Puget Sound Energy rates in Western Washington (10-12 cents per kWh) I am regularly seeing customers get a 15% (ROI), which equates to roughly a 7 year payback period. That assumes a south facing roof with an angle of 15 to 40 degrees, that the customer can use the 30% tax rebate and they are installing themselves. This is for grid tied installations without batteries. Call to get a free estimate.
Northwest Independence provides custom kits of solar panels and other equipment for a complete off grid power system designed specifically for you. We can make it easier for you to do an installation on your own by supplying the correct equipment and providing documentation needed to understand how to put it together on your own. We also manufacture batteries that are low cost. By pairing equipment sales, design and battery manufacturing I'm able to eliminate all down time in my business making my prices very competitive. I also ask that customers do their part to research their needs before using my time and to do the proper work prior to installation of batteries thus saving everyone time and money. This strategy can save you 10s of thousands of dollars on an off grid system.
Northwest independence is a small privately owned business located in Thurston County. In order to keep costs down for a small business we do not have a retail location, however visits are allowed if scheduled beforehand. It is owned and operated by a mechanical engineer from Washington and educated at the University of Washington.
All proudly made in Olympia WA with Chinese cells, American electronics, American materials
Currently out of stock.
Medium: 14.0 kWh (48v 280Ah). Power 7,000 watts. $7,000
Large: 28 kWh (48v 560Ah). Power 14,000 watts. $12,000
XLarge: 43 kWh (48v 840Ah). Power 20,000 watts. $17,000 (pre-order 6mo lead time)
Note: See below for more information on the batteries. These prices are much better than mainstream companies. Lead time 2 months. Lead time 43 kWh pack is 6 months (CATL cells)
SPECS
280Ah LiFePO4 cells from China with UL listing certification.
Medium:
Max Charge Current: 1C or 280 amps
Continuous Charge Current recommendation: 0.5C or 140 amps
Max Discharge Current: 1C or 280amps
Continuous Discharge Current recommendation 0.5C or 140 amps.
Large:
Max Charge Current: 1C or 560 amps
Continuous Charge Current: 0.5C or 280 amps
Max Discharge Current: 1C or 560amps
Continuous Discharge Current 0.5C or 280 amps.
Note the 0.5C limits are recommendations for operational settings of the inverter, the limits are not enforced by the BMS at those levels. The 1C limit is enforced via CANBUS so it will not cause a battery fault if you are using CANBUS.
Orion Jr 2 BMS with proprietary settings for CANBUS protocol with Sol-Ark inverters (I was the first company to properly integrate these products with the help of the manufacturer.
Wooden Lower box is made with marine grade plywood and coated inside with fire resistant paint. Outer wooden box is painted with enable typically used for floors. Metal lid provided adequate cooling. This is a very low cost design.
I use my own aluminum bus bars of my own design that provide excellent corrosion resistance and conductivity at lower cost and faster assembly to other copper solutions.
Note: Battery packs are not required to be UL listed.
FEATURES
With LiFePO4 battery cells you can use 100% of rated battery capacity at 99% efficiency unlike lead acid which is roughly 60 percent of capacity and 50% efficient which means you need double the number of solar panels.
Triple redundant over current protection. Yet no limit on current because the current does not flow through the electronics unlike cheap BMS products.
Low temperature cutoff protection with 3 seperate sensors.
Redundant Under voltage shutoff protection for each cell
Redundant Over voltage protection.
Natural Cooling through battery box design.
Cells are encapsulated in a proprietary design that keeps them spaced apart, secure and able to cool naturally without thermal stresses because they are free to expand and contract in their own space.
CANBUS communication with Sol-Ark and Victron Inverter Chargers.
WHAT MAKES OUR PRODUCTS BETTER
Northwest Independence uses LifePO4 battery cells not lithium ion battery cells, technically they are both lithium ion but typically this is how they are refereed to. LifeP04 batteries are safer and longer lasting by thousands of cycles. The batteries should last over 20 years. The advantage of lithium ion batteries is their weight and initial cost but they are not more economical for off grid applications in the long run.
Lithium ion batteries are what is used in Tesla Power walls and several other products. We use a premium quality, US made, battery management system and other top end electronic components. We provide a quality long lasting product at a low price.
Our products are manufactured in Western Washington and can be serviced by the same people who make them quickly without dealing with a big companies warranty department.
Each product is customized to precisely what you need saving you money and giving you the features you want. We are able to provide DC power as well possibly saving a lot of money if your home is configured to use DC power. We recommend converting to DC power if possible. For example if your going to install a well pump, putting in a 48v dc motor will reduce the load on your inverter and increase efficiency as the inverter is not being used.
Contact Us
Questions, comments, requests? Feel free to reach out. We’d love to hear from you.
Before contacting us please do some research on what you need to power. If you have anything like an air conditioner or well pump it might require significant cost increases to power those properly. An accurate quote on a system that will work properly cannot be made without this information. Please make a spreadsheet with each appliance, light, or other load and list its voltage, max amperage and the number of hours you expect to run it each day. You may email the data to the email below. Note: inquiries without an attempt to estimate this information will not be taken seriously.
360-622-0145
About Me:
Im a mechanical engineer. I graduated from the University of Washington in 2006 with a BS in Mechancial Engineering. I have experience in HVAC, plumbing and Aerospace engineering. Are you ready for when they decide you don't deserve electricity?